Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said the new local government system introduced by the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will bring revolutionary reforms and empower elected representatives to effectively resolve problems being faced by their respective areas.

Chairing a high-level meeting on local government system here at the PM Office, he said the local governments will prove as nurseries for raising leadership of the national caliber. He said with transfer of development funds to local governments, the basic issues of public will be addressed. It will also discourage the practice of unjustified release of funds by favouring certain elected representatives over their counterparts, he added.

The prime minister said direct election at tehsil and municipality levels will not only help people choose the deserving candidates but also strengthen the fabric of political parties.

The meeting was attended by Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Member National Assembly Asad Umar, KP Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Minister for Local Government Shehram Khan Tarakai and senior officials.

The participants of the meeting were also given a briefing about the salient features of the new system.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan held an important meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and discussed police reforms. During the meeting, the overall situation of the province including development projects came under discussion. It is pertinent here to mention that PM Imran Khan had summoned Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to Islamabad to discuss reforms in police department.

Presiding over a high-level meeting to review progress on special economic zones (SEZs), Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that ease of doing business and provision of all possible facilities to business community are the government’s top priorities. He said the government is committed to solve problems of the business community. He said the economic zones will create business opportunities and help boost economic activities in the country. He directed the federal and provincial departments to expedite work on the economic zones and remove all hurdles in this regard. On the occasion, Imran Khan sought details of tax exemptions on import of medical equipment and machinery used in hospitals. The meeting reviewed progress on special economic zones in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chief ministers of Punjab and KP, Federal Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan, Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Production and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood were also present in the meeting.